Ford GT Mk II: A Track-only Supercar with a Super Price
Last week, Ford hinted at a new version of its GT supercar with a mysterious teaser. Today at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England, the beast came out of the shadows.
The all-new Ford GT Mk II is a limited edition that’s exclusively designed for the track and raising the performance bar quite a bit higher. It was developed by Ford Performance in collaboration with Ontario’s Multimatic using the expertise gained in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, but independent of race series rules, regulations and limitations.
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“It’s the closest GT owners can get to the Le Mans-winning performance and exhilarating feeling of crossing the finish line in the Ford GT race car,” said Hau Thai-Tang, Ford chief product development and purchasing officer.
A Lot More Power
Let’s start with the 3.5-litre EcoBoost engine. Since the GT Mk II is not limited by any racing sanctioning body, it is able to generate 700 horsepower, which is 53 more than the road-going GT and 200 more than the GT race car.
The seven-speed dual-clutch transmission was specially calibrated for this track-exclusive application, but even more interesting is the innovative engine cooling technology that includes a high-capacity, air-to-air, outboard-mounted charge air cooler with water spray technology.
Essentially, the water spray automatically activates in high-temperature situations to provide cooling by applying atomized water on the charge air cooler. In addition, there’s a roof-mounted intake to feed auxiliary engine, clutch and transmission coolers, allowing the Ford GT Mk II to maintain a consistent level of power and performance.
Incredible Aerodynamics
The large dual-element rear wing on the new Ford GT Mk II exceeds what the GT race car offers in terms of downforce. Meanwhile, an all-new front racing splitter and diffuser have been incorporated along with new fender louvres and dive planes.
And compared with the regular GT, the difference is colossal: It generates over 400 percent more downforce while fixed aerodynamic elements along with the race-proven suspension and Michelin Pilot Sport racing tires enable the car to pull more than 2Gs of lateral grip.
Lighter chassis
Unsurprisingly, the Ford GT Mk II is also lighter and more agile. Freed from the street car’s adjustable ride height system and drive modes, it provides a weight savings of over 200 pounds.
At the same time, five-way adjustable DSSV shock absorbers work with a lowered and fixed ride height to enhance handling. Oh, and braking performance is improved over the GT race car, too, courtesy of carbon ceramic brakes including 15.5-inch front and 14.1-inch rear Brembo units.
As for the cockpit, changes include a bespoke Sparco racing seat with a six-point racing harness and an optional passenger seat. A full MoTeC data acquisition system has also been added to provide vital performance info and it doubles as a display for the rear camera.
The Ford GT Mk II will be sold directly to customers by Multimatic via FordGTMkII.com. Actually, it can be ordered right now. You better hurry, though, because only 45 copies will be built.
If you’re wondering about the price, here it is: $1.2 million. That’s more than double the base MSRP of the GT street car!
